Hermitage Staff Spotlight: Jennifer Schmidt

Every month, we want to introduce you to one of our amazing staff members and give more insight on what it’s like to work at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage! This month, we are spotlighting Jennifer Schmidt who is part of our curatorial team.

• What is your job title?
  • Collections Manager.
• How long have you worked here?
  • Almost a year and a half. I started around Thanksgiving 2019.
• Can you describe what you do in a few sentences?
  • I manage the physical and intellectual aspects of the objects in the museum’s collection to ensure long term preservation. These aspects include the storage, exhibition, and cleaning of the objects, pest management, monitoring temperature and humidity levels, and managing the paperwork and data relating to the objects and their donation.
• How did you come to work at The Hermitage?
  • I completed a grant-funded position at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas working on a wall-to-wall inventory of the museum’s collection. While searching for my next employment opportunity I found the position at The Hermitage and thought it sounded interesting.
• What is your favorite thing about working here?
  • I love working with original objects that represent so many different aspects of American history, including political, social, economic, and religious.
• What is something that surprised you about working at The Hermitage?
  • I did not realize how old the Ladies’ Hermitage Association/Andrew Jackson Foundation is. This provides an opportunity to preserve and interpret an extra layer of 130 years of history at The Hermitage.